Arafat’s New Terror Weapon: Exploding Toy Planes

DEBKAfiles ^ | January 14, 2003, 4:33 PM (GMT+02:00) | DEBKA files staff

[Bryan24]

Those of you who think this is undoable are mistaken.

I'm not defending DEBKAFiles because they have some pretty looney stuff. But I've been worried about this kind of weapon for some time.

I've seen models like this. Besides the tiny little one shown in that picture, I've seen a 1/4 scale cub with a wingspan of about 5 feet. And yes, it can carry 3-4 pounds of payload. EASILY.

I watched a guy fly a perfect replica of a twin engine Navy transport, Circa WWII or Korean War era. That plane, about 5 ft wingspan also, could fly at 70-80 mph and carry near a 5lb payload.

These planes can be guided nearly 1/2 a mile before the radios lose contact with the plane. All that needs to be done is get in a straight line of sight with the target and you can fly the plane right into a building.

Now I ask you guys, what would 3-4 lbs of Semtex going off next to or in a building do to it?

[ErnBatavia]

"Pull!"

[per loin]

This could be as dangerous as the Arab plot to secretly add a new letter to the Jewish alphabet.

[aruanan]

Well, you've heard the expression "Life imitates art."

[archy]

These planes have too small a payload to carry any useful explosives.

You've got to get out more.

[sd-joe]

Thanks for the pictures. They are neat. But they do not prove anything to me.

The helicopter is not carrying any weight, just those big but light training feet.

The first picture is interesting. What is under the wings? Remember my comment was about "usefull" explosives, in the context of a military attack. Just scaring people with big firecrackers would not do it.

[archy]

thanks for the pictures. They are neat. But they do not prove anything to me.

The helicopter is not carrying any weight, just those big but light training feet.

The first picture is interesting. What is under the wings.

I don't know. But it's a USMC photo of a Defense Advanced Research Agency project, so it could be either something noisy or snoopy. Of course the Composition B explosive filler charge of an M67 fragmentation grenade is only 6.6 ounces, and the weight of a M15 white phosphorous grenade is but 31 ounces.

Remember my comment was about "useful" explosives, in the content of a military attack. Just scaring people with big firecrackers would not do it.

During WWII, the British SAS fiound that their standard 8-pound demolition charge was a bit inconvenient for raiding parties going onto Afrika Corps airfields and leaving them on the aircraft. While that was acceptable for a single or double charge against a fuel storage tank, the presence of dozens of aircraft made such attacks by small groups impractical unless a smaller yet equally effective charge could be compounded. It was.

Sapper Jock Lewis came up with a pound-and-a-half demo charge that was both explosive and incendiary, powerful enough to rupture an aircraft's fuel tanks and ignite the fuel spread by the explosion. It was easy enough for a stealthy raider to carry a couple of dozen of the charges with timers, plant the things, then hopefully be on their way before the first signalled that the ball had begun.

Though the R/C aircraft-delivered devices described in the article could certainly be used in either that fashion or for use against POL storage tanks that have so far resisted several terrorist explosive attacks, the use of a grenade-sized warhead could also be used against a crowd at a synagogue or political event- a Likud rally, perhaps. Neither should the idea that one might be used as a follow-on *gotcha* attack following a suicide bomber event, in hopes of killing emergency rescue workers and ambulance personnel.

But I suspect that the real value of small R/C aircraft such as the one pictured will be to train rookie pilots, who'll then go on to operate larger remotely piloted aircraft. And I'd expect that fitting the 2-kilogram warhead of a PG-7 antitank rocket for the RPG-7 launcher could be done without too much difficulty to a slightly larger aircraft once the pilot had learned how to control a smaller one- which could make life difficult for both Merkava tank crews and officials in armoured limosines.

[Cvengr]

IMHO, the more significant aspect is simply promotion of asymmetric warfare using innovative low voltage, robotic and control devices during the age of the PC.

Toy planes are merely one aspect of that arena.

We live in a PC as a commodity society. If a tainted aspirin bottle terrorized the nation 20 years ago, imagine the variations on the 'I hate you' dollies which might proliferate in other microprocessor based devices.

A grenade on a toy plane flown into a building window will cause considerable blast damage. Boom boxes that really do go boom. Cell phones with sufficient charge to reach out and touch somebody. PC monitors that radiate more than believed. When dealing with an enemy with resources distributed throughout a global economy and active parties guided by Islamic extreme militarism, the threat could multiply quickly.

Perhaps the best tactic is for them to rehearse their suicide bombing missions on their homeland with live ordnance before they deploy.

[sd-joe]

Kool.
Thanks for the info.

[Monty22]

Why do they want Jerusalem? They have mecca. Go there scumbags.

[steve86]

The helicopter is not carrying any weight, just those big but light training feet.

Here is a new model R/C helicopter from Germany described as being able to lift an additional 4.4 lbs over the previous model. Mainly designed as a photo platform.

Note it uses an electric powerplant (a brushless DC motor). Recent advances in rechargeable batteries using lithium technologies have increased stored power densities considerably. Smaller electric helos are capable of 25+ minute flights, while doing aggressive, power-robbing maneuvers (this was recently demonstrated in an impressive video -- post me for details)...

The electric helos are very quiet with only the sound of the rotors and the gears audible. Easily drowned out in an urban environment.

I hope these things don't become restricted. They are great fun.

http://www.minicopter.de/en/maxi-joker.html

[sd-joe]

That is certainly an impressive helicopter. I think however, that it is starting to get out of the "toy plane" category of this article.

There is no question that radio controlled air frames of one kind or another have tremendous potential for the military. After all the Predator uses the same techniques.

I appreciate your input, but even this very high tech helicopter is very limited in military applications - they are talking of only a 5 to 10 minute flight time.

[gitmo]

Wouldn't it be simpler to launch mortars into Jerusalem? And certainly more destructive.

[Cvengr]

The significance of toy planes vs mortars is that mortars present a much more obvious signature as a military weapon when passing through a checkpoint or carried within a metropolitan area and would likely be confiscated. Toy planes though probably would be allowed but fairly indefensible as a terror weapon loaded with a grenade in a crowded area.